Equipment Review and Discussion :: Leaking sunsun hw302 — HELP!

Various accessories and equipment discussed here.

Post Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 11:21 pm   Leaking sunsun hw302 — HELP!

Hey folks, trying to troubleshoot a leak with the sunsun canister filter I bought awhile back. It’s leaking from the clip points. From what I have read, that means the normally dry parts of the canister head are takin o water. This is supported by the amount of water shed from the canister head when I remove it. My question is, other than the o-rings where the intake and output tubes plug in, is there any other place else where water could be improperly entering the head?

Some more info that might be useful — this happened suddenly after a filter change. When I went to re-seat the head, it was a little temperamental about locking into place, so I’m afraid I might’ve damaged something. I was REALLY fighting to prime it, so I took the head back off and reseated it and then it primed fine.

The impeller housing was pretty gunky and I’m not entirely sure how that plays into things, having been unable to find a good exploded diagram. All the O-rings (including the one around the impeller housing) seem to be still good and rubbery and patent, and I have a hard time imagining the this much water would be taking on this quickly from around the valves alone.

The filter seems to also be intermittently noisier than before, though that could just be my imagination.

Further complicating matters, the tank in question is at the home of someone I seem to most likely be going through a breakup with, so I’d really like to get what I need to tackle this from every possible angle all at once.

I’m tempted to just spend the $50 on another one, but if this can be solved with a few o-rings and some lubricant, that seems dumb.

(Mostly unrelated, the water’s been kinda cloudy since I set the thing back up (yesterday) and I did a complete water change in the tank. I suspect I might’ve just not rinsed the new carbon well enough. Is that possible, and if so, will it resolve itself? The carbon bag is running clear now.)
Last edited by thrynkat on Wed Mar 07, 2018 2:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2018 9:00 am   Re: Leaking sunsun hw302

Usually it's just the rings, but it could be micro fractures or warped plastic that has broken any seal. How much water is in the tank? I doubt the cloudiness is related to the new carbon.
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steve
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Post Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2018 11:41 am   Re: Leaking sunsun hw302

It’s a 40-gal breeder tank filled about 3/4 of the way, so roughly 30 gals? I used some tank cleaner on it while I had her out and the tank empty, so it might be residual tank cleaner that s clouding the water up.

I’m gonna head to the hardware store and hope I can find the right dimension O-rings and get some silicone grease, then swing back by his place before work and try to fix it.

Man, this is so a layer of complication I didn’t need as I’m going through all this, I tell you what. :(
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Post Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2018 5:51 pm   Re: Leaking sunsun hw302 — HELP!

Alas, none of the O-rings I was able to acquire at Ace Hardware were close enough to get the damned thing to seat properly. I think I'm going to cut my losses, buy him a new filter and tell him to keep this one on hand for spare parts, or maybe take it home and see if I can recondition it when I have more time to sink into the project. Really frustrating that I can't seem to just google my way to finding o-rings of the correct size. I've found a few sources for actual replacements, but they're 4 freakin' euros apiece with international shipping.

I did discover some cracks around the screw points where the head housing connects to the pump mechanism, but those aren't in a place where water could be getting in from the interior. I couldn't find any appropriate silicone/food grade lube at the hardware store so I just tried a coat of vaseline out of desperation. It might be helping a little ... not sure as I had to take off. I can buy a whole replacement accessories kit for $20, but I only need the damned O-rings ... which will cost me $20 for two with international shipping, most likely! It's a conspiracy, I tell ya. *headdesk*

-k-
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Post Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2018 3:33 am   Re: Leaking sunsun hw302 — HELP!

Would this work? https://www.amazon.com/sunsun-Canister- ... 01N2LWYRV/

I would lean towards a different filter though....
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Post Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2018 9:14 am   Re: Leaking sunsun hw302 — HELP!

I think the problem with the O-rings I was able to acquire wasn’t that none were quite the right size so much as that they were too hard a rubber. Once the new filter’s in place I’ll take the other set to a bigger-box store and see what they might have that’s more similar ...
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Post Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 3:26 pm   Re: Leaking sunsun hw302 — HELP!

Sometimes the o-rings dry out and shrivel so you don't get as good of a seal. You could try adding a bit of petroleum jelly (Vaseline) to the rings which helps keep longer once you get new ones. Adding it to the old ones won't help bring them back to life - once they're gone they're gone.
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